Commercial International Bank, Egypt, has completed its 51 per cent acquisition of Mayfair Bank Limited following approval by the Central Bank of Kenya.

The Egyptian bank will now hold majority stake at the local bank as it establishes its presence in the Kenyan market and expands into the East African region.

The transaction took place under Section 13 (4) of the Banking Act and approval by the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Planning on April 8, 2020, pursuant to Section 9 of the Banking Act.

Mayfair Bank was licensed in June 2017 and commenced operations in August 2017. The bank has five branches in Nairobi, Eldoret and Mombasa.

It is categorised as a small bank with a market share of 0.17 per cent as at February 2020.

CIB will provide MBL with the requisite skills, resources and infrastructure to scale up its business.

The acquisition will also strengthen trade and investment ties between Kenya and Egypt.

The bank was licensed by the Central Bank of Egypt on August 13, 1975. It is a leading private sector bank in Egypt, with a total asset base of approximately $24.18 billion (Sh2.45 trillion).

CIB is listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange and trades over the counter on the New York Stock Exchange with representative offices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ethiopia.

CBK has been pushing for natural consolidation, noting that mergers and acquisitions are beneficial in any economy.

According to a recent report by Cytonn, the banking sector witnessed a number of consolidation activities in 2019 as players in the sector were either acquired or merged.